Speaker(s):
Erik Kirschbaum
Location:
University of Wisconsin–Madison, Memorial Union
Co-sponsor(s):
UW-Madison Department of German
Description:
How could a rock concert move an entire nation, like Springsteen did in July 1988 in East Berlin, to rise up and reach out for more freedom? How could one artist singing about “Chimes of Freedom” and speaking out against the Wall (“…in the hopes that all the barriers are torn down”) have had such a major effect on the young generation of East Germans fed up with the stagnation of their Communist state that was even falling behind the more reform-minded other Eastern European countries in the late 1980s. Was rock ‘n’ roll and Springsteen with his four-hour concert the catalyst that inspired a generation of young East Germans to rise up? Or was the Berlin Wall going to fall sooner or later anyhow? These are some of the questions Erik Kirschbaum will address in his lecture.
Erik Kirschbaum, a native of New York City, has been working as a foreign correspondent since 1989. He has spent most of the last 24 years in Germany writing about politics, economics, entertainment, climate change, and sports for Reuters as well as for Time magazine, Variety and other English-language newspapers around the world.